NFL free agency: Milton Williams shares inside account of Panthers-Patriots confusion

The Carolina Panthers almost made one of the biggest splash signigns on the first day of the legal tampering period. In a later-deleted tweet, Adam Schefter at ESPN initially reported that the Panthers were finalizing a deal with former Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Milton Williams.

However, soon after another report emeged from Dianna Russini that other teams were in the mix for Williams. Then, the news broke that the New England Patriots had agreed to terms with Williams on a massive four-year, $104 million deal. That contract makes Williams the third-highest paid interior defensive lineman in the league, trailing only Chris Jones (Chiefs) and Christian Wilkins (Raiders).

So, what happened in those few minutes between Schefter's initial report and Williams joining the Patriots? We now have the inside story from Williams himself, who spoke with The Insiders on NFL Network yesterday. Apparently New England's offer came in late but it topped Carolina's. Here's what Williams had to say about it, per NFL.com.

Milton Williams on Panthers-Patriots confusion

"There was a lot going on, and it happened really fast. They talked about Carolina then and I was like, 'alright, it sounds like the best offer we are going to get, so, we were going to go there.' Then, a split second later, New England hopped on and was like, 'Nah, this is what we got for you.' Carolina felt like they went too high on their number, so, they stayed at where they were at. New England came in, and it was [over] after that. They wanted me the most and made me a priority. So, I made them a priority."

While it's often disappointing to miss out on signing a big-name free agent, this late spurn was probably in the Panthers' best interest. Instead of adding one interior defensive lineman at $26 million a year Carolina was able to add two (Bobby Brown III and Tershawn Wharton) for $5 million a year less.

Given the top-heavy nature of the Panthers' interior rotation, this is a better alternative. Their depth beneath Derrick Brown was exposed last season in a bad way, which was perhaps the biggest factor in the team's league-worst issues against the run.

Carolina could still be in the market for more defensive line help - but it's more likely to be out on the edge instead of inside. While the outside world seems to think wide receiver is their greatest need going into the draft, all other indications point to the Panthers targeting an edge rusher in Round 1.